Nine new institutions receive NIH Clinical and Translational Science Awards

9 institutions to receive $255 million over 5 years to help scientists bridge laboratory discoveries to patient treatments

Nine health research centers have received funds to develop ways to reduce the time it takes for clinical research to become treatments for patients. The funds were awarded as part of the Clinical and Translational Science Awards (CTSA) program which is led by the National Center for Research Resources (NCRR), part of the National Institutes of Health.

"A critical goal of biomedical research is to transform discoveries into preventions, treatments, and cures," said NIH Director Francis S. Collins, M.D., Ph.D. "By working together, CTSAs are removing barriers to research, training new generations of clinical and laboratory research teams, and providing them with the equipment and resources they need."

Now in its fourth year, the CTSA consortium has generated resources that transform the research and training environment to enhance the efficiency and quality of clinical and translational research. Examples include a Web-based national recruitment registry that connects researchers with volunteers interested in participating in clinical studies, establishing public-private partnerships, and a portal that connects researchers with potential investigational drugs that may be useful in new ways.

The 2010 CTSAs expand consortium representation in new areas including New Mexico, Virginia and the District of Columbia, growing the consortium to 55 member institutions. The nine new institutions are:

Children's National Medical Center, Washington, D.C.
Georgetown University with Howard University, Washington, D.C.
Medical College of Wisconsin, Milwaukee
University of California, Irvine
University of California, San Diego
University of Massachusetts, Worcester
University of New Mexico Health Sciences Center, Albuquerque
University of Southern California, Los Angeles
Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond

View descriptions of these CTSA awardees at www.ncrr.nih.gov/ctsa2010.

"The nine institutions that have received CTSAs this year extend the geographic reach of the consortium and bring additional talent and expertise in such areas as children's health, outreach to underrepresented communities, and systems to share research information," said NCRR Director Barbara Alving, M.D.

The CTSA consortium now includes awardees in 28 states and the District of Columbia. When the program is fully implemented in 2011, it will support approximately 60 CTSAs across the nation.

A sixth and final funding opportunity announcement for CTSAs is available, calling for the next round of applications to be submitted by Oct. 14, 2010, with the awards expected in July 2011. For more information about this funding announcement, see www.ncrr.nih.gov/crfunding.